Keeping Secrets
by Samantha-Girl Scout
Summary: Ladybug stared at the other girl looking for any signs that she might be lying. Sure, as Marinette, Alya was her best friend. A person that she could trust no matter what. But, as Ladybug, she really didn't know whether she should trust her or not.
1. Chapter 1

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Ladybug said as she watched the cleansed akuma flitter away to places unknown.

It was such a relief to watch it go.

Of all the fights that she had ever fought, this one had been one of the most exhausting. Normally, she would have had the support of her partner, but this week Chat was gone. It wasn't a fact that she had broadcasted, but, somehow, it seemed that Hawk Moth just _knew_ that she was going it alone because it seemed as though there was a new akuma every day.

Who knew that summer vacation could create so much _drama_?

"Where... where am I?" The Parisian citizen asked from where they sat on the ground. Now that Ladybug had some time to breathe she got a good look at the person sitting on the ground. In the place of the 'Thyme Master', a supervillain who used herbs to control people, stood an ordinary gardener in dirtied clothes. Ladybug took a deep breath and pushed through her exhaustion to walk towards the victim. She stopped a short distance away.

"L-Ladybug?" The woman said in surprise before an understanding came across her face and she looked away in shame. "I became evil didn't I."

"Don't worry," the superheroine said gently before offering her hand to the other woman. "Everything is alright now. Do you have someone that you can call to get you home?" The woman took her hand gratefully before nodding.

"Yes, my husband should be available." She looked away as soon as she was standing on her own two feet. "I-I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Ladybug said with a smile. From the way that the other woman looked at her, though, it was more than likely that the smile belied some of her own exhaustion. Her earrings gave a small chirp, signaling her need for a quick retreat." Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be heading out.

The woman nodded as she pulled out her phone and walked away to call her husband. Ladybug took in her surroundings. It was obvious to herself that she would be unable to fling herself away as she normally would, due to her weariness. In fact, she could barely pick up her feet as she made her way towards a close-by alley. Thankfully, there weren't any paparazzi around due to how far that they had traveled. Now she just needed to check to make sure that-

"Ladybug are you alright?" The spandex-clad heroine whirled around in a panic to find a very familiar blogger staring straight at her. She had her phone in one hand, but it appeared as though she was not filming in that moment. When she had lost the journalists she had assumed that Alya had been lost in the mix as well, but it appeared as though she had underestimated her civilian best friend.

"Of course!" Ladybug called with a sheepish grin. "I was just about to head out was all. Bye!" She reached for her yo-yo and let it loose. Though, instead of it catching like it normally would, it fell with a great thud to the ground. She felt herself wobble on her feet for a moment as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

"You look like you're in bad shape," Alya said as she rushed forward to steady the superheroine. She gave her a once over before muttering, "And you're about to de-transform, too." Ladybug felt a wave for panic overwhelm her as she realized the situation that she was in. She couldn't let anyone know that she was secretly Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Who knew what would happen if someone found out that their beloved heroine was just a measly high schooler who-

"Look. I imagine that you don't want to go to the hospital because then your identity would be revealed, but I can tell that you need to rest before you try to go anywhere. My house is close by and I could take you there to hang out until you've recharged. Then you can head home, okay?" Alya reached forward to put her hand on the other's shoulder. "I know I've been trying to expose your identity for a while now, but I promise I won't do anything to jeopardize your identity."

Ladybug stared at the other girl looking for any signs that she might be lying. Sure, as Marinette, Alya was her best friend. A person that she could trust no matter what. But, as Ladybug, she really didn't know whether she should trust her or not.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Fine, but give me your phone." Alya complied immediately for which Ladybug was quite grateful. While Alya was an honest person, Ladybug knew that fame could corrupt even the best person. She inspected the phone for a moment. It did not appear as though it was recording, but she did not want to take any chances so she turned the phone off.

"C'mon you don't have much time." The blogger immediately began dragging the superheroine towards a very familiar part of Paris. Alya expertly maneuvered them through the alleyways in an attempt to stay as hidden as possible. Before long, they were standing in front of an apartment complex. Wordlessly, she led her through the front door to her apartment where she opened the door. As soon as the door was open, a waft of delicious-smelling food passed over them and the sound of someone cooking reached their ears.

"Alya? Is that you?"

"Just play along," the aforementioned girl muttered under her breath as she opened the closet door and threw a large blanket over her guest's head. "Yeah, It's me!" She called back much louder and pulled her forward quickly.

"How did the Ladybug hunting go?"

"It was okay, but I didn't get any good shots. Ladybug and the Thyme Master got away too quick. By the time I got there, the akuma victim and Ladybug were both gone!"

"I'm sorry to hear that dear." The voice started to sound much louder the further into the apartment that they went. "Who is that dear?"

"Oh just a friend of mine from school! You remember Marinette right?" Ladybug tensed at the mention of her real name. She was pretty sure that Alya had not actually made the connection between the two people, but it frightened her that her friend was very close to the truth.

"Of course I remember her You've claimed her as your best friend after all. But why is she covered in a blanket like that? The poor dear will suffocate."

"She was cold when I ran into her after the attack!" Alya quickly explained as she strategically pushed the two of them in the direction of her room. "She was kind of freaked out by everything so I brought her home so that she could calm down before I walked her home."

"Alya, that's kind of you dear, but won't her parents be concerned?"

"I-It's okay, Madam Césaire," Ladybug called through the blanket. "I texted them to let them know where I was headed." There was a long pause as the head chef contemplated the two girls before her.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Ah! That was them saying that it's okay for me to stay!" Ladybug didn't need to see through the blanket to know that Marlena Césaire was looking at the two of the incredulously. She could feel a cold sweat starting to break out across her body at the thought of her being discovered by Alya's mother.

"Alright, well how about you stay for dinner? I've made plenty."

"Sounds great, mom!" Alya said loudly as she all but pushed the superheroine into her room. "Just yell when it's ready!" She then proceeded to shut the door behind them. Her hero immediately sat on the ground, pulling the blanket all around her in an attempt to block out every part of herself.

It was just as she was fully situated, and Alya's phone carefully placed beside her, that the familiar bright red light washed over her and Tikki rushed out of her earrings and landed in her hand. She carefully cupped the kwami in her hands and took in just how exhausted the little creature was. It was blatantly obvious that this was the most worn-out that she had ever been after a transformation including the time that she became sick.

"Oh, Tikki," she murmured barely above a whisper. The kwami barely opened her eye. She opened her mouth to speak, but Marinette was quick to put a finger over the small mouth to tell her that it wasn't safe for her to say anything.

"Alya?" She called past the void that was the blanket. "This is a really weird request, but do you have any cookies? I promise that I'll replace them later, but right now I need some."

"Uh, sure!" There was the sound of rummaging somewhere farther away. "I think that I- Here we go!" She exclaimed as she suddenly encountered the item that she was searching for. "I'm sorry. They're a little stale since my friend Marinette gave them to me last week, but they should still be good. If you need fresher ones I could ask my best friend to bring some over or-"

"That's fine," Marinette said as she wiggled an arm out of the blanket and reached her hand out. She felt a few cookies being deposited into her hand before she retracted it into the little fort that she had created for herself. She brought her hand up and placed the small stack of cookies beside Tikki in her hands and watched as her tiny friend tried to reach for them. Her little hands reached for the closest one, but found that she did not have the energy to even do that much.

Thinking quickly, she set the stack down and broke off a small piece and brought it up to the kwami's mouth. The tiny creature bit into it and was able to get a few bites down before she collapsed without a word.

Marinette bit her lip hard as she considered the situation that she was in. She was currently stuck under the blanket as a civilian without any hope of transforming back before Tikki regained enough strength to eat. And, if she was to be completely honest, she was just as exhausted as the small creature resting in her hands. She could feel how weary all of her muscles were and she wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep for a long _long_ while.

She tried to strategize how she would get home to rest, but none of those ideas seemed possible. There was no way that she could leave Alya's apartment without being noticed by her mother at this point. She could try to escape from her window. But, that was assuming, once she was safely outside, she would be able to stand _let alone_ walk all the way home.

That left just one option: staying at Alya's house.

Under normal conditions that option would seem to be the best possible, but staying would involve revealing herself and she was not supposed to tell anyone about who she really was. She glanced down at Tikki. She considered trying to wake her to find out what the best option would be, but at the same time she wanted to allow her to rest.

"How long will it take for you to recharge? I figure that whenever that happens I can sneak you out past mom and just say that my friend Marinette went home."

"It's going to be a while I think," she said glumly as she rested her back against Alya's bed.

"Well… I guess that I could hide you in my closet until you're able to leave? I mean that'll be kind of hard, but I can make it work somehow I suppose. If you need to stay over, I can let you sleep in my bed since I'm sure you're exhausted now."

Marinette leaned her head against the bed as well. Hearing her friend point out the obvious seemed to make her weariness heavier. She had always cared about her identity, but, in that moment all she could think about was taking her friend up on her offer. She closed her eyes as she braced herself for what she was about to do.

She hoped that Tikki and Chat Noir would forgive her for giving into her exhaustion.

"Hey… Alya?" She called tiredly as she tried her best to sit up.

"Yes, Ladybug?"

"I don't think that I'll be able to go home tonight... And I don't see any way for you to fool your mom into thinking that I left…"

"I'm sorry," the blogger said sincerely as the reality of the situation seemed to dawn on her. Marinette couldn't quite tell where she was in the room, but she could hear her coming closer until she felt a hand touch her covered shoe. "I didn't mean to put you into a situation like this. But, you looked like you were going to pass out and I didn't want you to get hurt."

"It's alright." She breathed in through her nose before letting out a long sigh. "I've actually been debating about telling you about who I really am for a while."

"Y-You have?!" Marinette smiled softly to herself as she heard the disbelief and hope in her friend's voice.

"Yes. I mean you _were_ the first person to believe in me, and I wouldn't be fighting as hard as I am if it weren't for your encouragement. And, even though you really want to know who I am, you seem to still respect the fact that I want to keep my identity secret.

"You probably don't remember it too well now, but back at the beginning of all this I was really doubting myself," Marinette shifted nervously. "In fact, I almost gave up when I messed up by not cleansing the Akuma the first time. I really didn't think that I was good enough to do any of this superhero stuff... But, you were there cheering me on. It felt so good to have someone who believed in me. And, for that, I'd really like to thank you."

Marinette could feel part of the burden that she had been carrying alone fall away as she began admitting what she had never told anyone outside of Tikki. She appreciated the kwami's support, she really did, but there were things that she had wanted to talk to Alya about for some time now. She had especially wanted to convey just how thankful she was for her friend's unintentional help. How that first day meant the world to her, and how she always felt humbled whenever she would gush about her alter ego.

"You didn't betray my trust on the way over here, but I'm still wondering if I can tell you who I really am," the young heroine could feel a weight fall on her chest as she considered all of the potential danger that such knowledge would put her friend in.

"There's so much danger that you would be put in by knowing this. It's possible that Hawk Moth might target you if he suspects what you might know who I am. And, there's the possibility that Chat would start hounding you for clues as well. That cat is far too curious for his own good. And-"

"Can I be frank, Ladybug?" Alya cut in. When Marinette did nothing more than nod her covered head the blogger pressed on, "I'm flattered by how concerned you are, but, just like you and Chat, running towards danger is what I _do._ Sure I might be put in a little extra danger, but it's something that I'm willing to do to _help you_."

"I know that it can be hard to trust a virtual stranger," it took every bit of control that Marinette had to not laugh at the irony as Alya squeezed the foot that she was resting her hand on. "But, I can promise you that I will not tell a soul about who you truly are."

"Would you even keep it from your best friend?" This gave the other girl pause as she considered the question. The superheroine wasn't sure what made her ask the question, especially since it would be a moot point soon, but she needed Alya to understand that she wouldn't be able to talk about this with any one.

Alya sighed before she finally responded. "Yes. She may get a little suspicious when I have to keep things from her, but I'm sure that Marinette wouldn't mind once she understands that I promised to keep your secret. She hates lying, but if I'm upfront with her about keeping a secret I think she'll understand."

Marinette let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. She felt relieved by Alya's response. Even though it wasn't a detail that they would necessarily have to worry about, it put her mind at ease that she would not have to worry too much about Alya spilling her secret to anyone. Because, if she was willing to keep it from her best friend, a person who she told nearly everything to, then she would be willing to keep it from others as well.

"Okay. I'll tell you," Alya sucked in a breath and was about to speak again, but the super heroine cut her off, "But first I want you to close your eyes."

"Okay." There was a short pause and Alya removed her hand from her guest's foot. "I've closed my eyes and covered them so that I won't accidentally peek."

Marinette removed the blanket and felt fresh air on her face for the first time in quite a few minutes. She also blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the new amount of light that they were receiving. Once adjusted she shifted her gaze to more carefully inspect Tikki. It appeared as though the kwami was sound asleep so she took the opportunity to put her gently in her purse with the rest of the cookies.

It would be better to do one introduction at a time.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to her best friend. She was indeed sitting there with her eyes closed and her hands over her eyes. It was obvious that she wanted to open them, but she was restraining herself. Marinette smiled to herself as she retrieved Alya's phone from where it had been resting on the ground and placed it directly in front of her.

"Alright. You can open your eyes now."

Marinette watched as her friend let her hands drop and her eyes open. At first, she held her breath, too afraid of what her friend's reaction would be, but, she was soon laughing hysterically at the look of bafflement on her friend's face.

"Marinette?! You're Lady- mmphf?!" Her friend screeched quite loudly as she pointed an accusatory finger at Marinette. The young heroine immediately flung herself forward to silence her statement before Alya's whole neighborhood could learn of her secret. She kept holding her until it became apparent that she would be able to restrain herself from screaming again. As she pulled her hands away she nodded a confirmation.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," Marinette began as she brought a hand up to scratch the back of her neck. "I really wanted to tell you, but you know how secret identities are supposed to work..." Alya's shock and disbelief melted into fierce understanding.

"Right. If you told the wrong person about it then Hawk Moth might get your Miraculous through them. Or he might use that person against you. Don't worry, girl. I totally understand." The superheroine let out a breath of relief. She had been so frightened that she would be upset for having the truth being kept from her.

"Exactly," she said with a small smile. "I really didn't want to put you in any danger, but I didn't really have any choice besides telling you." The blue-haired girl leaned back heavily against her friend's bed and closed her eyes wearily. "There's no way for me to make it home right now, I'm way too exhausted..."

"Understandably. You've been going solo this whole week… Where on Earth did Chat go?"

"He said that his family was going on a trip for about a week..." Marinette mumbled as exhaustion began to weigh heavily on her. "He said that he didn't want to go, but that he had no choice because his father was forcing him. I told him not to worry too much because the attacks had been less sparse as of late. But, apparently, I spoke too soon."

"No kidding. You've fought, what, three akumas in the span of five days?"

"Four, actually," Marinette corrected as she closed her eyes for a moment. "There was one two nights ago. I just happened to catch it while I was out and about. If I hadn't found it then there's no telling what would have happened the next day when another akuma showed up…" She felt her head becoming heavy.

"Why don't you take a nap until dinner is ready?" Alya asked as she pocketed her phone and approached her best friend.

"That sounds like a really good idea."

"You may want to lay down so that you don't get a crick in your neck, okay?

Marinette nodded slowly as she stood just enough to flop unceremoniously onto Alya's bed. She could barely hear her friend's laughter. She then felt gentle hands pry her shoes from her feet as she said something about not wanting her bed to get dirty. She tried to mumble out an apology, but found that her energy had waned enough that she was unable to do so.

Only moments went by before sleep wrapped around her like a heavy blanket.

* * *

Hey everyone! I'm _finally_ breaking into the Miraculous Ladybug fandom. I've been itching to post something for it since I started getting insane amounts of ideas so don't be surprised when I post more in the coming months. Also, there is more to this one... but I got so impatient that I decided to post it as two chapters instead of just dividing it. Let me know what you think so far and I'll get chapter two out within the next few weeks. From what I'm seeing so far it should just be two chapters long.

As always, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts or questions let me know in the reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

Alya was pulling a blanket over her friend's sleeping form when her mom knocked on her door. A moment later Melena poked her head around the door to announce that supper was being served. Upon seeing the small form laying in her daughter's bed, she gave her daughter a questioning look.

"Alya," she asked quietly, "Why is Marinette sleeping?"

"She was exhausted so I told her she could sleep a little bit before we ate." She bit her lip as she looked down at the resting girl. "She just fell asleep so I'd hate to wake her up. Can we save some for her to eat later?"

"Sure, honey," Melena said thoughtfully. "Though I am a little concerned for her. We'll wake her after we're done to check to make sure that she's okay."

"Okay, Mama," Alay said as she gingerly stepped over Marinette's purse and made her way to the door. Her mother stepped back to allow her daughter to leave the room before shutting off the main light. She was about to shut the door as well when she decided against it.

It was just the two of them when they finally sat down to eat. Alya's siblings and father had left to go fishing in the country for the weekend. Normally the whole family would have gone together, but, with how busy Ladybug had been lately, Alya begged to stay home. She kept talking about how she just had to be there to cover the latest attacks.

Melena had always trusted her daughter. She had proven herself to be responsible time and again, but she always worried for her safety when she searched the skies for superheroes. Most nights she came back with stars in her eyes and a fingers itching to post about the latest scoop. But there were a few nights that her daughter came home with a look that didn't belong on her youthful face quite yet. And, since attacks could happen at any time, she did not feel comfortable leaving her home alone all weekend.

Normally conversation easily flowed between mother and daughter, but instead there was a long lapse of strained silence. Melena decided to give her daughter some time to come clean about the situation of her own accord. But, no matter how long she waited, Alya refused to say a word of her own. Melena let out a sigh before she looked at her daughter with a serious expression.

"Do her parents know what she does?"

Alya's eyes flew open at her mother's words as her food-ladened spoon hung suspended halfway to her mouth. It was obvious that she had not expect her mother to have guessed the situation. It then quickly dawned on her that she should try to play off the situation so she stuffed her face with her food and attempted to look nonchalant. Her mind was moving a mile a minute as she attempted to come up with an explanation. She finally found the words when she swallowed the big bite of food and filled her spoon again. She did her best to meet her mother's eyes, but she found her eyes going to her mother's spoon instead.

"You mean skipping classes and flaking out on plans? I'm pretty sure that they do. They grounded her for it a little while ago. I'm sorry that it's such a last minute thing, but I just couldn't leave her there after the akuma attack."

"Alya," her mother said sternly as she set her spoon down and crossed her arms. "I understanding that you're trying to protect her, Lord knows that she probably deserves as much protecting as she can get, but you aren't fooling me."

Alya's face immediately fell. She had known her best friend's secret for less than a day! What kind of best friend was she? She had promised that she wouldn't tell anyone. Marinette would never trust her ever again. What if she no longer wanted to be her friend at all? What if she started to hate her? What if-

"Honey, take a deep breath." Alya hadn't realized that she wasn't really breathing, but now that she noticed she found herself breathing too much. Her mother immediately pushed her chair back with so much force that it clattered loudly onto the floor. She quickly came around to take her daughter's face into her hands. "I want you to take slow and deep breaths, okay Honey?" Alya nodded slightly as her mother began coaching her breathing.

It took quite a few minutes for her mother to calm her down, but, once she was able to breathe properly again, her mother took her hands in hers and looked at Alya with worried and determined eyes. The teenager could feel some panic well again as her mother began to speak, but her mother immediately squeezed her hands gently and slowly - a silent reminder to take calming breaths.

"Alya, yes I was able to figure it out, but I'm not going to tell anyone about this. From how many times you and your siblings talk about superheros, I understand how important it is for her family's safety." Marlena gently tucked a wayward hair behind her daughter's ear before continuing. "I'm sorry that I made you panic. I only asked if they knew so that I could know what to tell them when I call them. It's pretty obvious to me that she didn't contact them and I'm quite sure that they're very worried about her at this moment. I know that it would put their minds at ease if they knew where she was."

"I don't think that they know," Alya said quietly as she looked away. The feeling of remorse and trepidation began to course through her as she thought of what her best friend would think of her once she found out that her best friend's mother knew her secret now. Marinette had gone a whole year without anyone finding out, and then Alya, foolishly, had caused her to blow her cover for two people! She couldn't face her anymore. She-

"Alya, everything is going to be okay," her mother soothed as her daughter began tear up. "My finding out isn't any of your fault. You did everything you could to hide her identity from me. It wasn't your fault that Marinette is a bit too tall for that old blanket to cover up her feet as well." She chuckled as she wiped Alya's tears away. A ghost of a smile could be seen on her face before it disappeared into a grimace. Her mother sighed before continuing; refusing to lose her humor for her daughter's sake.

"Besides, now she has two people who can help her if she's ever in a pinch again. And she can know, without a doubt, that she is always welcome in our home if things ever get tough out in this crazy world. How does that sound?"

"I suppose," Alya mumbled.

"Great. Now let's finish supper up so that I can call in her first cover story," Marlena winked at her daughter before going around to the other side of the table and carefully righting the chair. The rest of the meal was spent in silence, but there was a distinct lack of the previous tension.

They were just finishing up when a groggy Marinette walked through the door. Alya greeted her as best as she could, but it was difficult without meeting her eyes. Thankfully, Marinette wasn't able to pay her any mind through her muddled state. Instead, she carefully limped to the table and sat down in an empty seat besides Alya where she promptly laid her head on top of her folded arms.

"Good evening, sleepy-head," Melena said with a big smile. "Are you hungry?"

"I don't know," she mumbled into the table. "I heard a loud bang so I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Oh, yes, everything is fine. I just accidentally knocked over my chair," the older woman said sheepishly as she collected hers and her daughter's plates. "I hope you don't mind that we let you rest. Alya mentioned that you were exhausted after the akuma attack so I thought that letting you sleep was the best option."

"'s fine," Marinette slurred. Melena looked at the girl in concern as she set down the plates on the kitchen island. She then came to the tired teen's side and looked her over critically. It was obvious that she was in no shape to be doing much of anything.

"I don't think that you should go home tonight. In fact, I almost wonder if you should stay with us for a couple of days until you can get your energy up." Marinette pushed herself up into a sitting position while shaking her head.

"No, I should be fine after staying one night." She considered the girl before her. It looked as though she was barely staying awake at the table as her head nodded down occasionally.

"I suppose that we can see how you're doing tomorrow," Melena, though not convinced, decided to compromise for the time being. She shared a look with Alya before continuing. "I'm going to call your parents to let them know that you're staying over. Would you like me to go over and pick up anything for you?" Marinette shook her head. "Alright, Alya you go ahead and warm up a small portion of the food while I let them know about Marinette staying the night."

"Okay," Alya said as her mother walked towards the living room to place the phone call out of ear-shot of the teens. "I'll be right back," Alya said soon afterwards. Marinette watched with hooded eyes as she prepared a plate to reheat for her. She blinked once, twice, and by the third time that her eyes were opening there was a plate of hot food being set before her. In all honesty, she wasn't too hungry, but Marinette did her best to eat because she knew that she would need it to regain her energy in case of another akuma attack.

As she ate, a small amount of energy came back to her. Some of her weariness had lifted enough that she noticed that her friend was abnormally silent. She had expected that Alya would need some time to get used to the idea, but, with how excited she was when Marinette revealed it to her the silence seemed to be off.

She blinked a few times in an attempt to focus on her friend. Alya was messing with her phone, which was something that was normal for the blogger, but her shoulders were hunched. The hand that was not occupied with her phone absently twirled a strand of hair. All of these were normal tics for the girl, but, after a few moments of observation, Marinette spotted her friend biting her lip -a habit that she only partook in when she was nervous about something.

What on Earth did she have to be nervous about?

"Alya?" She asked as she set her utensils down and turned to her friend. Immediately Alya looked up from her phone and smiled sheepishly. "Is everything okay?" Alya was about to reply when her mother entered the room and interrupted the two.

"Well, Marinette," she said as she sat in her previous seat, "Your parents are concerned about your health, but they agreed to you staying here. They said that if you need to stay longer that you may, but if you need anything either you'll need to get it or I'll need to go by to pick it up. Apparently tomorrow they have a big order to fill and won't be able to drop anything by themselves."

"Oh yeah…" The teen said before sighing. "I was supposed to help with that order, too…"

"They said not to worry at all. Apparently they weren't affected by the akuma attack so they were able to work ahead during the lull."

"That's good to hear," she said as she attempted to stifle a yawn. She looked down at her half-finished food with a frown. Marinette hated to waste food, but it was becoming difficult to keep herself awake enough to eat anymore. She willed herself to take a few more bites anyways, but, when she almost dropped the spoon into her lap Melena put a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Don't worry about finishing. If you're too tired to stay awake anymore, you should go on ahead and go to sleep."

"Okay," she said wearily as she pushed herself away from the table.

"Would you like to change into some my old pajamas before you go to bed?" Alya asked tentatively as she stood up with her friend. "I'm sure that we could find a set that would fit you." Marinette considered it for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't think I'd be able to stay awake long enough," she said sheepishly. "Where should I sleep?"

"You could sleep on my bed." Alya said with a shrug.

"But won't you-"

"It's not a problem, Marinette," The mother interjected gently. "We have an extra mattress that Alya can set up. Besides, if you can't stay up long enough for us to find you some sleeping clothes, how on earth will you stay awake while I inflate a mattress?" She chuckled lightly as she gently guided the girls in the direction of Alay's room. She watched in bemusement as her daughter's best friend flopped back onto the bed. "Alya, dear, let's go ahead and get that extra mattress for you set up."

Alya turned to follow her mother out of the room, but a tug on her shirt caused her to look back at her exhausted friend. She could clearly see concern marring friend's expression as she used what little energy she had to hold her friend in place.

"You'll tell me what's bothering you when I wake up, right?" The blogger could feel her friend's eyes search her face. She had hoped that Marinette had forgotten her interrupted question. But, after the amount of time that she had spent around the other teen, she should have known that she would have been stubborn about insisting on making sure that her best friend was okay. If there was anything that she had learned about her best friend it was just how fiercely she cared about other people.

No wonder she was a superhero.

"Yeah." Alya said as she gently pried her shirt out of Marinette's grip. "Don't worry too much about me right now, though, okay? Just focus on feeling better right now." The superheroine looked as though she wanted to protest more, but a wave of exhaustion hit her and she found that she could not. She carefully retracted her hand back, snuggled under her best friend's covers, and nodding.

Marinette watched with heavy eyelids as her friend left the room to locate Melena. Something about the situation made her feel uneasy, but her sleep-addled brain couldn't quite pin-point what was wrong. She tried to fight through her sleep for a moment or so in an attempt to puzzle through what was off about the situation, but that proved to be far too difficult for her.

She would wait until she woke up to find out what was bothering Alya.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for the positive response to this! It really means a great deal to me. I don't know when I'll get the third part of this done, but please be watching for it in the next few weeks!

As always, thanks for reading and, if you have any thoughts or comments leave them in the reviews!


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